WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 August 1916, Page 7

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

tHE EMPIRE'S FUTUEt

TIiADE WITH J.A PAX

(From Our Own Correspondent.) Wellington, August 10. Much lias been heard in Wellington lately of Imperial Federation, a topic th.it .must grow in interest and importance as the end of the war approaches. It appears to be taken.for granted by ma r y publie men, as wel! as by the brotherhood of ihe "Bound Table," that the next Imperial Conference will undertake the discussion of the questions raised by fcir Joseph Ward in 1911 and that proposals for the creation of a truly representative Imperial body will receive very much more serious attention than they (lid five years ago. During the dying Injurs of the session the Hon. James Allen urged the members of the New Zealand Parliament to give their grave consideration to this question of the future government and organisation of the Empire, and his remarks drew from Mr. A. S. Malcolm a brief speech warmly advocating the creation of a real Imperial Parliament, representing the Empire as a whole and holding authority over the national affairs of British people \n the Mother Country andthe Dominions. Mr. Lionel Curtis, whose recently published work may be regarded as a text-book on the subject.' i sanother ardent advocate of Imperial Federation and 1113 lectures in the Dominion undoubtedly have made an impression on that section of the public which gives thought to such matters. But it is a long step from a. realisation pf the inadequacy of the present Imperial organisation to the acceptance, of a full measure of federation, involving! the curtailment of the powers of existing Parliaments in favor of a Parliament 1 of Empire. The question really is far too big for casual discussion, but New Zealand's public men will have to study it closely if they intend to keep abreast of the times. ,

THE WESTERN ALLY. I A'&at with Mr. S. Utika, the Japaneso Trade Commissioner at present visiting New Zealand, throws some light upon I the probable development of trade between Japan and Australasia. This courteous and well-informed visitor is full of interesting information regarding the industrial capabilities of his own country, and he predicts that Japan will supply a very large proportion of tho cheap articles that Now Zealand and Australia used to draw from Germany and Austria. The war has stimulated Japanese industry, in a very marked degree by causing capital to flow into the country- and by opening markets that previously were fed from Europe, and the Mikado's Government is co-operating with the manufacturers and merchants in an effort to take full advantage of the opportunity that has offered itself. Glassware, bottles, boots, mineral waters, matches, cotton goods, steel, tin plates, brushes and tinned 'fish are a few of the articles that Japan is prepared to supply, and is already supplying to British markets. The cheapness of the goods appears to be beyond competition, and Mr. Utika insists thai quality is simply a question of demand., The Japanese manufacturers will supply the class of articles that buyers require. Japan, in short, is prepared to manufacture for Australasia on a very large scale. There is a hint here of another post-war pro.blem. The services rendered to the Empire by the loyal Eastern Ally during the last two years can never be forgotten. But it is a fact that Japan has no' factory laws. A law limiting the hours of work for women to about seventy per w and placing a cheek upon the unro. i-icted employment of children in factories, was passed by the Japanese representative Chamber about two years ago, but its operation has been postponed indefinitely, on grounds of ''expediency," by the Council 1 of State, and the protests of Japanese news), -pers show that goods are being manufactured by men, women and children under conditions of employment no longer tolerated in British countries. THE SERVICE BALLOT.

Ministers and crown law officers are engaged in the framing of regulations under the Military Service Act, and arc finding the task a difficult one. The Act itself merely outlines the scheme of compulsory service, and lea!ves the details to be adjusted by regulation. One of these details is the, method of ballot to be adopted in the selection of recruits from the groups month by month. The British Government did not require to fft-rangc a ballot. The available men were classified according to tiieir domestic, status and the number of their dependents, and were then summoned to the colors in big masses, a class at a. tiipe. But New Zealand wants recruits in regular monthly draft, and will require to select a few dozen, or a few hundred, at certain dates from classes containing many thousands of names. The choice must be made by ballot, and the men concerned will be entitled to an assurance of perfect fairness. THE LIFE OF PARLIAMENT. The announcement that the life of the Imperial Parliament is to be prolonged in consequence of the war only till the end of May next, and the news that prominent members of the House of Commons are declaring even this postponement to be too long, have given additional point to the protests that were raised here against the House of Representatives extending its tenure of office till December, 1918, eighteen months after the date fixed for the general election at Home. A local member of the House who spoke strongly against what Mr. Witty called the "Self-Preservation Bill" .insists tlmt the legislation of last session wa utterly uneontitutional and that it lias made New Zealand ridiculous in the eyes of the whole Empire. "If peace is in sight when wo meet next year," lie said, "The Liberals who are not hound hand and foot to the Government will not rest till the Act is., repealed even if this means renouncing the party truce and breaking up the National Cabinet.", Other local members have expressed the same view and are finding plenty of spmpathisers among the public. The general feeling is that the great after-war problems, which may have to bo tackled long before the end of 1918, ought to be dealt with by a Parliament fresh from the constituencies.